Afghanistan: Presidential Candidate Naeem Talks Pakistan, Corruption and BSA

In exclusive interview with TOLOnews, Presidential candidate Sardar Muhammad Nadir Naeem said that it was imperative for Afghanistan's future to develop closer relations with Pakistan and curtail systemic corruption. He also expressed hope that the Kabul-Washington Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) would be finalized soon.

Naeem was one of the 10 Presidential candidates who made the Independent Election Commission's (IEC) preliminary list last Tuesday. He is the nephew of former Afghan President Mohammad Daoud Khan. In the interview, Naeem acknowledged that improving relations between Kabul and Islamabad faced numerous obstacles, but was optimistic about their future. "We haven't reached a consensus with Pakistan over the issue of the Durand Line and water rights, but I believe that Pakistan is willing to forge friendly relations with Afghanistan in the long term," said Naeem. "We also need to settle the issue of refugees and pave the ground for their return." His comments come as President Hamid Karzai meets with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and British Prime Minister David Cameron in London for trilateral talks. Although the focus of the meeting will be the Taliban peace process, the leaders are also expected to discuss relations between the South Asian neighbors more broadly. Naeem spoke about Afghanistan's struggle against pervasive corruption. Earlier this year, Transparency International ranked the Afghan judiciary as the most corrupt judicial system in the world. Responding to a question about administrative corruption, Naeem said that the country's fight against graft needed to be led first and foremost at the upper echelons of leadership. "We can't eliminate corruption in general, water should be clean from the source," said Naeem. "Honest and patriotic individuals should be placed in higher offices." Naeem also said that the signing of the BSA was important for Afghanistan and that he strongly felt that the people would endorse the agreement so long as it was in line with the national interests of the country. TOLOnews will be conducting interviews with each one of the 10 Presidential candidates approved by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) in the coming weeks.